Homemade Marshmallow Fondant

I'm afraid that not much has gone on here since last time I posted.  Joe and I spent this past weekend in St. Louis visiting some friends and family and now we're home and trying to start on a long list of things we want/need to get done sometime soon.  A few of those things might be blog worthy, but I'm afraid that most are home improvement type chores that just have to get done.  In the meantime, I thought I'd write about that marshmallow fondant that I promised.

The first time I made this was for a baby shower cake.  I needed to make some cute little animals and I really didn't want to buy all the different colored fondant from the store.  I'm not sure how I first heard about marshmallow fondant, but I did a little research, watched a few videos and decided that making my own fondant would be the easier, cheaper and it would taste better than the store bought variety.  This recipe is very simple and so far I have used it for sculpting animals, detailing, and covering entire cakes.  There seems to be slightly different results every time I make this, even though I follow the exact same process every time!  I can probably blame that on temperature and humidity variances though.  The fondant has always worked out in the end!

It is also very simple to make chocolate marshmallow fondant, which can be extremely helpful if your end goal is to have black fondant.  Having a brown base means you have to use a lot less black food coloring.

Here's the recipe:

Marshmallow Fondant
16 oz. (1 pound) mini marshmallows
2 pounds powdered sugar
2-4 T water
Crisco (to keep the fondant from sticking to things)
* If you want chocolate fondant, you'll need 1/4 cup of chocolate chips.

1. Sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl and set aside.  The bowl needs to be large enough to hold the powdered sugar and the melted marshmallows.  Place a small amount of Crisco in a bowl to use once you're ready to start mixing the fondant.  This will all help move things along once you get the marshmallows melted.

I use a non-stick mat, but I still spread Crisco, because melted marshmallows are sticky!

2. Place all the marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl and add 2 tablespoons of water.  Microwave on high for 1 minute.  Stir marshmallows then heat in 30 second intervals stirring in between until all the marshmallows are melted.  * If you're making chocolate fondant, add the chocolate chips to the marshmallows at the beginning and melt together.

3.  Pour the melted marshmallows into the bowl of powdered sugar and begin mixing with a spatula.  When it becomes to difficult to mix with the spatula, spread a layer of Crisco on to the counter or on a non-stick mat.  Then dump the bowl of sugar/marshmallow mix onto the Crisco.  Coat your hands with Crisco as well and then begin kneading the fondant.

At this point I couldn't really mix it anymore.

Time to start kneading.

I was happy with the consistency, so I didn't worry about mixing in the rest of the powdered sugar.

4.  Continue kneading the fondant, trying to make it smooth and pliable.  It should end up feeling kind of like play-doh.  If it feels like it's a nice consistency but there's still a lot of powdered sugar that isn't mixed in, that's ok.  It doesn't all have to get incorporated.  If it is too sticky, you could add more powdered sugar, or if it is a little dry, sprinkle in a little water.  The fondant will firm up quite a bit once it is allowed to cool so don't worry if it is a little soft.

5.  Once you've got it smooth and pliable, form the fondant into a ball and wrap in two layers of plastic wrap.

All done!

If you want to dye the fondant, I would recommend using gel food colors such as Ameri Color or Wilton (my favorite is Ameri Color).  Start with small amounts of color and knead it into the fondant until the color is even.  Then add a little at a time until you get the color you want.  When you color the fondant, coat your hands with Crisco again or you could have multi colored skin.  It's also a good idea to put a thin layer of Crisco down on the counter or non-stick mat anytime you deal with the fondant.  

When rolling out the fondant to cover a cake or make cut-outs, it helps to sprinkle a little cornstarch on the counter first to keep it from sticking.

I guess that's about it!  This recipe makes a 3 pound ball of fondant which can cover a lot of area.  One batch of fondant was enough for a cake like the chili pot or football helmet.  You can also half this recipe easily if you only need to make a couple small accents out of fondant.

I hope you all have a great week and keep cool if you're experiencing the heat like we have here in Kansas City.  Let me know if you make anything out of marshmallow fondant!